Page 437 (1/2)

He said it was the very thing for Sparkler There was nothing

to do, and he would do it charly; there was a handsoly; it was a delightful, appropriate,

capital appointht of

hireat an

affection was so admirably stabled Nor did his benevolence stop here

He took pains, on all social occasions, to draw Mr Sparkler out, and

h the considerate

action always resulted in that young gentle a dreary and

forlorn mental spectacle of himself, the friendly intention was not to

be doubted

Unless, indeed, it chanced to be doubted by the object of Mr Sparkler's

affections Miss Fanny was now in the difficult situation of being

universally known in that light, and of not having dismissed Mr

Sparkler, however capriciously she used hientleby no means deficient in quickness,

she soood

service

But, while doing this, she was ashaet rid of hie him, distracted

with apprehensions that she was every day beco more and ivings that Mrs

Merdle triumphed in her distress With this tumult in her mind, it is no

subject for surprise that Miss Fanny caitation from a concert and ball at Mrs Merdle's house, and on her

sister affectionately trying to soothe her, pushed that sister away fro to cry, and declared

with a heaving bosom that she detested everybody, and she wished she was

dead

'Dear Fanny, what is the matter? Tell me'

'Matter, you little Mole,' said Fanny 'If you were not the blindest of

the blind, you would have no occasion to askto

pretend to assert that you have eyes in your head, and yet ask me what's

the matter!'

'Is it Mr Sparkler, dear?' 'Mis-ter Spark-ler!' repeated Fanny, with

unbounded scorn, as if he were the last subject in the Solar system that

could possibly be near her mind 'No, Miss Bat, it is not'

I called her

sister na with sobs that she knew she made herself

hateful, but that everybody drove her to it

'I don't think you are well to-night, dear Fanny'

'Stuff and nonsense!' replied the young lady, turning angry again; 'I aht say better, and yether way to the offering of any soothing

words that would escape repudiation, deemed it best to re to her looking-glass, that

of all the trying sisters a girl could have, she did think thesister was a flat sister That she knew she was at times a

wretched temper; that she knew she made herself hateful; that when she

ood as being told

so; but that, being afflicted with a flat sister, she never WAS told so,

and the consequence resulted that she was absolutely tereeable Besides (she angrily told

her looking-glass), she didn't want to be forgiven It was not a right

exaiven by a

younger sister And this was the Art of it--that she was always being

placed in the position of being forgiven, whether she liked it or not

Finally she burst into violent weeping, and, when her sister came and

sat close at her side to coel!'

'But, I tell you what, entleness

had cals cannot and shall not

go on as they are at present going on, and that there must be an end of

this, one way or another'

As the announceh very peremptory, Little Dorrit

returned, 'Let us talk about it'

'Quite so, my dear,' assented Fanny, as she dried her eyes 'Let us talk

about it I aain now, and you shall advise me Will you

advise me, my sweet child?'

Even Amy smiled at this notion, but she said, 'I will, Fanny, as well as

I can'

'Thank you, dearest A her 'You are reat affection, Fanny took a bottle of

sweet toilette water from the table, and called to her maid for a fine

handkerchief She then disht, and went

on to be advised; dabbing her eyes and forehead froan, 'our characters and points of view are

sufficiently different (kiss ), to make it very

probable that I shall surprise you by what I a to say,our property, we labour,

socially speaking, under disadvantages You don't quite understand what

I mean, Amy?'

'I have no doubt I shall,' said Amy, mildly, 'after a feords more'

'Well, my dear, what I mean is, that we are, after all, newcomers into

fashionable life'

'I am sure, Fanny,' Little Dorrit interposed in her zealous admiration,

'no one need find that out in you'

'Well, h it's irl, to say so' Here she

dabbed her sister's forehead, and blew upon it a little 'But you are,'

resu that ever

was! To resuentlemanly and extre respects, a little different froentleone

through, poor dear: partly, I fancy, on account of its often running in

hisabout that, while he is talking

to theh a dear

creature to who Edward is frightfully expensive and dissipated I don't enteel in that itself--far from it--but I

do mean that he doesn't do it well, and that he doesn't, if I et the money's-worth in the sort of dissipated

reputation that attaches to hihed Little Dorrit, with the whole fah

'Yes And poor you and me, too,' returned Fanny, rather sharply

'Very true! Then, my dear, we have no ain, darling, that Mrs General, if I may reverse a

coloves who WILL

catch mice That woman, I am quite sure and confident, will be our

mother-in-law'

'I can hardly think, Fanny-' Fanny stopped her

'Now, don't argue with me about it, A that she had been sharp again, she dabbed her sister's

forehead again, and blew upon it again 'To resume once more, my dear

It then becomes a question with me (I am proud and spirited, Amy, as you

very well know: too much so, I dare say) whether I shall make up h' 'How?' asked her

sister, anxiously

'I will not,' said Fanny, without answering the question, 'submit to

be mother-in-lawed by Mrs General; and I will not submit to be, in any

respect whatever, either patronised or tormented by Mrs Merdle'

Little Dorrit laid her hand upon the hand that held the bottle of sweet

water, with a stillher own

forehead with the veheive it, fitfully went

on

'That he has somehow or other, and how is of no consequence, attained a

very good position, no one can deny That it is a very good connection,

no one can deny And as to the question of clever or not clever, I doubt

very much whether a clever husband would be suitable to me I cannot

subh'

'O, my dear Fanny!' expostulated Little Dorrit, upon who as she perceived what her sister e If you loved any one, you

would no et yourself

in your devotion to hi hand, and was looking at her fixedly

'O, indeed!' cried Fanny 'Really? Bless me, how much some people know

of some subjects! They say every one has a subject, and I certainly

see, I was only in

fun,' dabbing her sister's forehead; 'but don't you be a silly puss,

and don't you think flightily and eloquently about degenerate

io back to myself'

'Dear Fanny, let me say first, that I would far rather orked for

a scanty living again than I would see you rich and married to Mr

Sparkler'

'Let you say, my dear?' retorted Fanny 'Why, of course, I will let you

say anything There is no constraint upon you, I hope We are together

to talk it over And as to htest intention of doing so to-night,

either'

'But at so I know at present,' answered Fanny, with

indifference Then, suddenly changing her indifference into a burning

restlessness, she added, 'You talk about the clever ! It's all very fine and easy to talk about the clever men; but

where are they? I don't see them anywhere near me!'

'My dear Fanny, so short a ti time,' interrupted Fanny 'I am impatient of our

situation I don't like our situation, and very little would induce

irls, differently reared and differently

circuht wonder at what I say or may do Let

them They are driven by their lives and characters; I am driven by

mine'

'Fanny, my dear Fanny, you know that you have qualities to make you the

wife of one very superior to Mr Sparkler'

'A her words, 'I know that I

wish to have a more defined and distinct position, in which I can assert

ainst that insolent wo, Fanny--therefore marry her

son?'

'Why, perhaps,' said Fanny, with a triu ways of arriving at an end than that, MY dear That piece

of insolence et her